Peru's March Trade Surplus Widens on Metals, Gas Exports

By Alex Emery

Peru's trade surplus widened in March on surging exports of copper, gold and natural gas.

The Andean country posted an $817 million trade surplus in March, compared with a $476 million surplus a year ago, Peru's National Statistics Institute said in an e-mailed report. February's trade surplus was $797 million.

Exports climbed 29 percent to $3.6 billion in March from a year earlier after metal prices rose, the agency said. Imports rose 20 percent to $2.78 billion. Copper and gold prices rose to records this year, while Peru doubled gas shipments with the startup last year of the Peru LNG export plant.

The sol was unchanged at 2.7915 per dollar at 10:40 a.m. New York time.

To contact the reporter on this story: Alex Emery in Lima at aemery1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Joshua Goodman at jgoodman19@bloomberg.net